8.  The applicant, Mrs Ianka Riener, was born in 1946 in Lubimetz, Bulgaria, and lives currently in Sofia.
9.  The applicant moved to Austria in 1985 and in 1986 married an Austrian national. In December 1989 she obtained Austrian nationality. Until December 2004 she remained a Bulgarian national (see paragraphs 48-52 below).
10.  The applicant has a daughter, born in 1963 in Bulgaria, currently an Austrian national living in Austria with her husband and children (the applicant’s grandchildren).
11.  The applicant was co-owner and commercial director of a company registered in Austria. In January 1991 she also registered in Bulgaria as a foreigner conducting economic activities there. Her main business was the importation of coffee in Bulgaria.
12.  Between 1991 and 1995 the applicant spent most of her time in Bulgaria. She has remained there ever since.
13.  By decision of 1 July 1992 a district fiscal authority in Sofia found that the applicant owed 26,494,582 “old” Bulgarian levs (“BGL”) of unpaid excise tax and BGL 4,104,925 of interest (the total amount due having been at the time the equivalent of about 1 million United States dollars (“USD”). The applicant’s ensuing appeals were dismissed on 20 August 1992 by the Sofia fiscal authority and on 7 April 1993, after a hearing on the matter, by the Sofia City Court. On 7 October 1994 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant’s petition for review (cassation) of the above decisions. The applicant then instituted proceedings seeking to declare the fiscal decisions null and void. This was refused by the Sofia Regional Court on 28 October 1996.
14.  In 1992 and 1993 the fiscal authorities attached certain monies in bank accounts of the applicant and her company. It appears that not more than BGL 400,000 (less than 2 % of the debt) was thus collected in 1992.
15.  In 1993 the fiscal authorities attached another USD 50,000. A smaller amount of money was seized from the applicant in relation to a criminal investigation against her, opened in 1991. The investigation was discontinued in 1993 and the money restored to her later (see paragraphs 53-56 below).
16.  On 1 March 1995 the Sofia fiscal authority asked the Passport Department at the Directorate of the Police (Napravlenie “Pasporti i vizov rezhim, DNP) (“the Passport Police”) to impose on the applicant a travel ban under section 7 of the Law on Passports for Travelling Abroad (Zakon za zadgranichnite pasporti) (“the Passport Law”), until the payment of her debt, as established by the courts.
17.  On 7 March 1995 the Passport Police issued an order which stated inter alia that a prohibition was imposed against the applicant leaving the country and that her document for travelling abroad should be seized. The order referred to the fiscal decisions in the applicant’s case, stated that she had Bulgarian and Austrian nationality, and relied on section 29(1)(v) of the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens in Bulgaria (Zakon za prebivavane na chuzhdentzite v Balgaria).
18.  On 4 April 1995 the Bulgarian border control authorities seized the applicant’s Austrian passport when she attempted to leave Bulgaria and to enter Greece. The applicant did not have a Bulgarian passport.
19.  Upon the applicant’s complaint, on 20 April 1995 the Passport Police informed her that a travel ban under section 29(1)(v) of the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens had been imposed, in relation to the applicant’s obligation to pay BGL 26,499,582.
20.  On 26 May 1995 the applicant submitted an appeal to the Ministry of the Interior. She stated that the measure was unlawful as on other occasions she had been considered a Bulgarian citizen. On 22 June 1995 the Ministry replied stating that the measure against her had been based both on section 7(e) of the Passport Law and on section 29(1)(v) of the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens and had been lawful.
21.  On 28 June 1995 the applicant submitted an appeal to the Sofia City Court. She stated, inter alia, that she was a Bulgarian citizen and measures under section 29 of the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens could not be applied against her. She also claimed that the authorities held an adequate security as they had attached funds of the Austrian company worth USD 50,000. Insofar as section 7(e) of the Passport Law had been invoked, this provision concerned the possibility to refuse the issuance of, or to seize, a Bulgarian passport, not an Austrian one.
22.  On 24 April 1996 the City Court held a hearing, which was attended by the parties and their representatives. The applicant’s husband was also present.
23.  On 13 June 1996 the Sofia City Court dismissed the appeal. It found that the applicant’s obligation to pay a significant amount in taxes, as established by the courts, was a sufficient ground, under section 7(e) of the Passport Law, to seize any passport which is used for international travel. Unpaid tax was also a ground to impose a prohibition against leaving Bulgaria under section 29(1)(v) of the Law on Sojourn of Aliens. Although this provision did not provide expressly for a confiscation of a foreign passport, if applied in conjunction with the relevant regulations, it clearly allowed such measure in respect of a person against whom there had been a decision prohibiting his departure from Bulgaria. Since the applicant had double citizenship the authorities correctly relied both on the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens and on the Passport Law.
24.  On 25 June 1996 the applicant submitted to the Supreme Court a petition for review (cassation). On 17 March 1997, the Supreme Administrative Court, to which the case was transmitted following a reform in the judicial system, dismissed the applicant’s petition for review (cassation). It appears that another appeal against these decisions was dismissed by the Supreme Administrative Court on 13 June 1999.
25.  By partial decision of 12 April 1996 and final decision of 11 April 1997 (DR 89, p. 83) the former European Commission of Human Rights declared inadmissible the applicant’s application in which she claimed, inter alia, that there had been violations of her right to freedom of movement and to respect for her private and family life on account of the restrictions on her travelling outside Bulgaria. The Commission found that the former complaint was incompatible ratione materiae with the provisions of the Convention as Bulgaria had not been a party to Protocol No. 4 of the Convention and that the latter complaint, examined under Article 8 of the Convention, was manifestly ill-founded, the applicant not having substantiated details about her family circumstances or whether or not she actually lived with her family between 1991 and 1995. The Commission also noted that there were no obstacles against the applicant’s family joining her in Bulgaria. In these circumstances there was no interference with her rights under Article 8 of the Convention. 3.  Events after the decision of the former Commission
(a)  The authorities’ refusal to lift the travel ban and ensuing proceedings
26.  In 1996 and 1997 the value of the Bulgarian currency depreciated sharply and the inflation rate ran high. Statutory default interest rates also increased significantly but did not compensate fully for the inflation and the depreciation of the currency. As a result, persons owing monetary debts denominated in Bulgarian currency saw the burden of their debt diminish.
27.  According to calculations made by the fiscal authorities, as of 25 June 1997 the applicant’s outstanding debt was BGL 317,482,761 (the equivalent of approximately USD 160,000 at that time).
28.  On 18 July 1997 the applicant requested the Ministry of the Interior to terminate the prohibition against her leaving the country. On 5 August 1997 the request was refused. The decision stated that the prohibition was still in force and that the matter could not be re-examined, all administrative and judicial avenues of appeal having been exhausted.
29.  The applicant appealed against that refusal to the Sofia City Court which, on 11 November 1997, granted the appeal and set aside the refusal of the Ministry of the Interior. The court noted that the prohibition had been based on the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens. However, the applicant also had a Bulgarian nationality and, therefore, was not an alien. The authorities should have applied the Passport Law. Furthermore, the fiscal authorities were holding a significant amount as security, which could probably satisfy their claim against the applicant. It appears that the latter conclusion of the court was not based on a precise calculation of the debt. The Sofia City Court’s judgment of 11 November 1997 never entered into force as the Ministry of the Interior successfully appealed (see paragraphs 38-40 below).
30.  On 14 November 1997 the passport police issued a new order prohibiting the applicant’s leaving Bulgaria. The order referred to new enforcement proceedings opened by the fiscal authorities in respect of the same debt. It was based on section 29(1)(v) of the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens.
31.  Following these developments, there were two separate sets of judicial proceedings and two administrative proceedings, all concerning the travel ban imposed on the applicant:
(b)  First set of judicial proceedings
32.  On an unspecified date in 1997 the applicant appealed to the Sofia City Court against the order of 14 November 1997.
33.  On 20 May 1999 the Sofia City Court dismissed her appeal, noting that the applicant owed significant amounts and that insufficient security had been provided.
34.  Upon the applicant’s cassation appeal, on 21 June 2000 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the lower court’s decision. Addressing the applicant’s argument that the new Aliens Law, in force since December 1998, should be applied, the court stated that that law did not have retroactive effect. The courts’ task was to assess the lawfulness of the impugned administrative order in accordance with the law as in force at the moment when it was issued. Furthermore, it was not true that there had been “violations of international law”.
(c)  Administrative proceedings
35.  Separately, in 2000 the applicant also submitted administrative appeals against the order of 14 November 1997. She relied, inter alia, on Protocol No. 4 to the Convention, in force for Bulgaria as of 4 November 2000.
36.  Her appeal to the Ministry of the Interior was dismissed on 12 December 2000. The reply stated that the travel ban could only be lifted in case of payment of the debt or if sufficient security were deposited. As to the Fourth Protocol to the Convention, its Article 2 provided that freedom of movement could be restricted by national law. The former Law on the Sojourn of Aliens and the new Aliens Law provided for such restrictions.
37.  The applicant’s appeal to the Ministry of Finance was dismissed on 2 January 2001. She received a letter explaining that the measures against her were lawful as she had not paid her debt. Furthermore, the applicant could not rely on the Fourth Protocol to the Convention, which had entered into force for Bulgaria in 2000, because the impugned order had been issued on 14 November 1997.
(d)  Second set of judicial proceedings
38.  On an unspecified date in 1997 the Ministry of the Interior appealed against the Sofia City Court’s judgment of 11 November 1997 (see paragraph 29 above). In these proceedings the Ministry’s request for a stay of execution was granted on 23 December 1997 by the Supreme Administrative Court. In her submissions to the courts the applicant relied, inter alia, on Articles 8 and 13 of the Convention.
39.  On 22 December 1999 the Supreme Administrative Court set aside the Sofia City Court’s judgment of 11 November 1997 and dismissed the applicant’s request for the termination of the travel ban. The court found that the deposit held by the fiscal authorities as security was insufficient. It also found that prohibitions on leaving the country could be imposed on Bulgarian and foreign nationals alike and that it was not unlawful to rely on the Law on the Sojourn of Aliens. Although certain aspects of the legislation as in force at the time the prohibition had been imposed might have been unclear, the applicant was not entitled to rely thereon with the purpose to leave the country without having paid her debt. The court also stated that the prohibition would remain in force as long as the reasons for which it had been imposed remained valid.
40.  The applicant’s subsequent request for reopening of these proceedings was dismissed on 19 March 2001.
(e)  Continuing refusals of the authorities to lift the travel ban
41.  The prohibition against the applicant leaving Bulgaria remained in force. Throughout the relevant period, by way of yearly internal notes the fiscal authorities informed the passport police that the applicant had not paid yet.
42.  On 13 February 2002 the applicant’s Austrian passport was returned to her without prejudice to the prohibition on her travelling outside Bulgaria, which remained in force.
43.  On 10 February 2003 the applicant again requested that the travel ban be lifted, arguing that the statutory limitation period in respect of her debt had expired.
44.  By letter of 13 February 2003 the Passport police refused. The applicant filed an appeal with the Sofia City Court, but it was never examined.
(f)  The lifting of the travel ban
45.  On 26 August 2004 the Sofia tax authority sent a letter to the Ministry of the Interior, Directorate of Migration, stating, inter alia:
“Having regard to the fact that the absolute prescription period with regard to the [applicant’s] fiscal debt, which was established by administrative decisions of 1 July 1992 and 9 October 1992, has expired and taking into consideration the fact that the [applicant] has made an objection with reference to the expiry of the prescription period, [it follows that] the fiscal administration’s right to seek the collection of the debt is extinguished... Therefore, there are no longer valid grounds for the prohibition against [the applicant] leaving the country... You are requested to repeal [that] administrative measure...”
46.  On 27 August 2004 the Ministry of the Interior repealed the prohibition. On 1 September 2004 the applicant received a copy of the order.
47.  The applicant remained in Bulgaria. In her letter of 23 September 2005 to the Court she explained that she stayed because she needed to organise the liquidation of her husband’s company in Bulgaria and that she would leave as soon as the liquidation procedure was completed.
48.  In 1989, 1994 and 1995 the applicant’s requests to renounce her Bulgarian citizenship were refused by way of unreasoned decisions.
49.  In February 2001 the applicant submitted again a request to the Ministry of Justice, seeking to renounce her Bulgarian citizenship. By decree of the President of Bulgaria of 12 October 2001 the request was refused. The decree is not amenable to judicial review (see paragraph 70 below). The applicant nevertheless attempted to institute judicial proceedings, challenging the fact that the Ministry of Justice had given a negative opinion on her request, before its transmission to the President. Those proceedings ended by final decision of 22 April 2004 of the Supreme Administrative Court, whereby the applicant’s appeal was declared inadmissible.
50.  Despite the refusal of her request, as she did not wish to be regarded as a Bulgarian citizen, the applicant refused to apply for Bulgarian identity papers and as a result encountered certain difficulties in respect of health care, housing, etc in the period 2001–2004. The applicant wished to have papers of a foreigner residing in Bulgaria. However, she was repeatedly informed that in accordance with the relevant law Bulgarian citizens who held a second citizenship were considered as Bulgarian citizens for purposes of their relations with the Bulgarian authorities.
51.  On 19 June 2003 the applicant requested again to renounce her Bulgarian citizenship. In 2003 the Austrian Embassy in Sofia inquired with the Bulgarian authorities about the applicant’s situation, expressed the view that the statutory prescription period for the applicant’s debt had expired and considered that the applicant’s request to renounce her Bulgarian citizenship could be granted.
52.  By decree of 8 December 2004, the Vice President of Bulgaria granted the applicant’s request to renounce her Bulgarian citizenship. The applicant was informed thereof by letter of 25 January 2005.
53.  On 23 November 1998 the Sofia District Court gave judgment in a case concerning the applicant’s appeal against the attachment order made by the fiscal authorities in 1993. The attachment order was declared unlawful and set aside. As a result, on 6 January 1999 the fiscal authorities lifted the attachment of USD 50,000 which was paid to the applicant’s bank account.
54.  In September 1999 the applicant brought an action against the fiscal authorities and several courts claiming damages as a result of numerous allegedly unlawful acts against her.
55.  On 15 May 2003 the Sofia City Court dismissed the claims. The court acknowledged, inter alia, that the attachment imposed by the fiscal authorities in 1993 had been declared unlawful in 1998 and that the seizure of an amount of money in 1991 by the investigation authorities had also been annulled. As a result, in principle the applicant was entitled to compensation under the State Responsibility for Damage Act. However, she had failed to prove the amount of the loss suffered. Her action was, therefore, unsubstantiated and ill-founded. As far as alleged losses resulting from the travel ban were concerned, the court found that the prohibition on the applicant leaving Bulgaria was lawful and no issue of State liability arose.
56.  The applicant appealed to the Sofia Appellate Court. The outcome of those proceedings is unknown.